Due to the “Supercar” furore and the late decision to cancel the production of the Phase IV, Ford had a lot of special parts lying around, but with no car to put them on.  In 1973, Ford decided it was time to retire the aging Phase III from the racing programme and start running the new XAGT models.  However, if they were to be a force at Bathurst that year, they needed to homologate a number of performance parts.  The solution was Regular Production Option (RPO) No. 83.

To meet the homologation requirements, Ford produced a total of just 250 XA GT “Specials” – including both sedan and hardtop versions – but did so very quietly and with no official press release, to avoid any negative public and political comment.  In fact RPO 83 was a nil cost option, with the sedan costing $5087 and the hardtop $5203.

Externally, these cars were indistinguishable from standard GT’s.  From the driver’s seat, the only tell-tale sign was the inclusion of a manual choke.  However, when you lifted the bonnet, the major components of the RPO 83 option became apparent.  The specials received the 780 cfm Holley carburettor and the fabricated extractor system originally destined for the Phase IV.  Not so obvious was the modified sump, which although not the special “eared” sump of the Phase IV, did include additional baffles to help minimise oil surge.

While Ford refused to acknowledge that the cars produced more power, they did concede that the modifications were designed to improve mid-range torque.  Road testers at the time indicated that the performance of the XA GT “Specials” was a dramatic improvement over the standard models, suggesting that the modifications provided an additional 30 to 40 bhp over the standard rating of 300 bhp.

The additional power and torque enabled the new cars to come close to the Phase III in terms of outright performance, with quarter mile times in the high 14’s (as opposed to mid 15’s) and a top speed of 140 mph (as opposed to 130 mph) being suggested.

Although quite a few of the RPO 83s were also fitted with power steering, everything else – spring ratings, transmission, diff, etc. – was the same as on the standard GTs.  This also included the brakes and contrary to reports written in some more popular magazines, no production XA GT (including RPO 83s) came out with rear wheel disc brakes.  The only XA GT I know of that was fitted with rear disc brakes was one of the race cars which had them fitted illegally.  Interestingly enough, this car actually went through scrutineering without the rear discs being detected and it was only the fact that the car broke an axle and shed a wheel during the race, that the rear disc set-up became known to all and sundry.

While the majority of the cars were sold to people in the know, quite a number were also sold to buyers who knew nothing about the special significance of their vehicles.  I believe that these buyers could have been forgiven for being a little confused when people were criticising the XA GTs for not being as quick as their XW or XY counterparts. 

Today the RPO 83 is a much sort after model and brings a hefty price premium over the standard XA GT.  The only major problem is finding one for sale.